Gabriel Fernando de Jesus is a Brazillian professional football player who plays as an attacker for the Brazil National Team and for Manchester City FC in the Premier League. He started his career playing for Palmeiras and helped them win their first national league title after over two decades and moved to Manchester City in 2017. Along with Brazil, he has won the Olympic Gold at the 2016 Olympics and the 2019 Copa America. Gabriel has a lot of tattoos on his body, most of which have really deep meanings for him and the people in his life. Let us take a look at them and the meanings behind them.
1. ‘Portrait of Mother’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left shoulder and upper arm of the player is covered in a large tattoo of a portrait of his mother.
Meaning: Gabriel got this tattoo as a tribute to show his love and importance of his mother, Vera Lúcia Diniz de Jesus in his life, who is also one of his idols.
2. ‘Rose and Quote’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a rose flower tattooed right below the portrait of his mother on his left arm. Gabriel’s left forearm has a quote tattooed around it too that reads, “Em cada passo que eu der, em cada estrada que eu trilhar, todos os caminhos que eu escolher, tua mão me guiará, Vera Lúcia”
Meaning: The words on his arm are in Portuguese and translate to, “Every step I take, every road I take, all the paths I choose, your hand will guide me, Vera Lúcia“. This is another one of his tattoos for his mother and shows how much he believes in her and looks up to her every step of his life for guidance.
3. Cards Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his left wrist contains a tattoo of four playing cards on it along with a pair of dice right below them.
4. ‘Cross and Praying Hands’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tattoo of a cross on Gabriel’s right shoulder with clouds tattooed behind it. There is also a tattoo of hands joined in prayer right below the cross, covering his upper arm.
Meaning: The tattoo of the cross is tied to his faith and represents his religious views. The cross represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to save humanity. The tattoo of the praying hands is connected to the tattoo of the cross as they represent the power of prayer and also dedication towards self and family.
5. ’97’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The number, 97 is tattooed on his right elbow and there is a hand gesture tattooed right next to the number with the words, “Alô Mãe” tattooed below it.
Meaning: The 97 represents the year of his birth as Gabriel was born on 3 April 1997. The hand gesture along with the words represents his signature celebration style of scoring a goal and the words translate to, “Hello Ma”. The celebration is an imaginary phone call that he makes to his mother.
6. Bicep Tattoo
Tattoo: The right bicep of the football contains a tattoo of himself, celebrating along with the words,”Sonho de Criança” below it.
Meaning: The tattoo represents his success with Manchester City FC in 2019 when they won the premier league and the Portuguese words translate to, “Child’s Dream” that shows how it was a lifelong dream for him to play football and win the major league.
7. ’33’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The number, “33” is tattooed on the inner side of his right arm along with two stars near it.
Meaning: The tattoo represents Jesus’ jersey number that he got when he moved to Manchester City FC. The player scored 45 goals in 100 appearances and was then given the no.9 shirt.
8. Boy Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of the player’s right forearm contains a tattoo of a small boy, wearing a Brazilian Flag designed cap, standing in front of the Brazilian Favelas holding a football. There are also clouds that show what he is thinking about that contain a football stadium and the words, “Jd. Peri”
Meaning: The tattoo represents a young Gabriel Jesus and shows his childhood, growing up in the slums, wanting to play football professionally. The “Jd. Peri” represents the area, Jardim Peri in the Sao Paulo slums where he was born and grew up in. This is not a unique tattoo as it matches the one that his friend and national team-mate, Neymar Jr. adorn on his leg.
9. Forearm Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his right forearm continues the tattoo of the streets of the favelas and has a tattoo of electric poles and a few more things from his childhood.
10. Olympics Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his right wrist contains a tattoo of the Olympic rings on it along with the words, “Rio 2016” tattooed above it.
Meaning: Gabriel got this tattoo to commemorate Brazil winning the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It is also the year that he made his debut for the Brazil National Team.
11. Chest Tattoo
Tattoo: Gabriel’s entire chest is covered in words tattooed on it along with rays of shine and a football on his right pec. The words on his chest are, “Sempre fui sonhador e isso que me mantem quando vivo pivete meu sonho de futebol era ser jogador vai vendo”
Meaning: The words on his chest are Portuguese and roughly translate to, “I’ve always been a dreamer and that’s what keeps me alive.
My football dream was to be a player” The tattoo represents his lifelong dream of playing football and how blessed he feels to have achieved it.
12. Video Game Characters’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The back of his left leg, contains a series of tattoos all related to classic video game characters. The tattoo includes Super Mario, his mushrooms, a few boxes, and Donkey Kong.
Meaning: The tattoo on his leg represents all the classic games he grew up playing and he loved them so much that he decided to get his favorite ones tattooed on his body.
13. ‘Gambling’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his lower left leg contains a series of gambling tattoos on it. There is a gambling wheel, playing cards, dices. The cards are showing the letters, “K, F, C, and E” and the dices are showing the number, 33.
Meaning: The tattoo of the gambling stuff on his leg represents how much he loves the thrill of the unknown and likes to play football the same way, with thrill and excitement, and by being unpredictable in front of the goal. The number 33, represents his old Jersey Number for Manchester City FC.
14. Wolf Tattoo
Tattoo: The outer side of his lower left leg contains a tattoo of the face of a wolf on it.
Meaning: The tattoo of the wolf on his leg represents his love and faithfulness for his family.
15. Thigh Tattoo
Tattoo: The left thigh of the player contains a tattoo of a scene of a garden. There is an old man, sitting on a wooden barrel, wearing glasses and a hat. There are two boys behind him and there is a window in their background.
16. Portrait Tattoo
Tattoo: There is another portrait tattooed on his body. Jesus has a portrait of the face of a friend, tattooed on his right thigh. The words, “Sempre vivo na memória faz parte da minha história” are also tattooed below the portrait.
Meaning: Gabriel got this tattoo as a tribute to his friend, Tininho. Tininho was Gabriel’s friend and team mate at his older football club, Palmeiras. The words on his leg are Portuguese and translate to, “Always alive in memory in part of my story”. The tattoo is a tribute tattoo for Tininho who was shot dead at the age of 16. While talking about the tattoo, Jesus said, “I remember him a lot. It sends shivers through me just to think of it. It’s difficult. But I know that God saved a very good place for him up there.”
